The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement has warned Houston-based oil and gas company Black Elk Energy that unless it dramatically improves its safety practices it will not be allowed to operate in federal waters.

Shell Gulf of Mexico, Inc. and Shell Offshore, Inc. have agreed to pay a total of $1.1 million in fines to settle claims that they violated their Clean Air Act permits while drilling in the Arctic in 2012.

The explosion that killed three workers on a Gulf of Mexico production platform in November 2012 was caused by contractors who were doing maintenance work at the site, according to a third-party investigative report.

Sheens of oil in the Gulf of Mexico near the site of 2010's Deepwater Horizon oil spill, repeatedly occurring since September 2012, have puzzled scientists and have caused fears that oil may once again be leaking from the sealed well.

Measuring flare gas emissions in the offshore oil and gas industry is notoriously difficult. In fact, the EU commission recognized this and decided not to apply the same accuracy targets for flare gas as other important gas streams such as fuel gas, which, for Tier 3 is ± 2.5 percent.

Canadian authorities are not ready to deal with the consequences of a potential offshore oil leak, according to a new report released by the federal commissioner of the environment and sustainable development.